Every month Early Word hosts a Twitter chat for YA librarians and readers to gather together and discuss upcoming titles. You can follow the hashtag #ewyagc to see yesterday’s discussion. Or you can check out the handy Storified version of the conversation. What is Early Word? It’s an online tool for collection development and reader’s […]

Most people who took SLJ’s Participatory Online Persona (POP) survey identified themselves as Curators. A mere .7 percent—a single respondent—chose the Self-Promoter category. Check out SLJ’s POP infographic.

Virginia middle school librarian Lauren McBride presents some must-have links and resources for librarians looking to hone their social media expertise. An expert in social media, McBride maintains her school’s Twitter page, participates in a weekly Twitter chat hosted by the Virginia Association of School Librarians, and next month will lead a professional development “Boot Camp” session for Virginia’s Loudoun County Public School librarians on how to use Twitter.

Michelle Luhtala suggests we judge millennials unfairly. Are they really coddled or are they resourceful? Are they narcissistic or transparent? Unfocused or hyper-focused? Is taking a selfie narcissistic, or is it a way to connect with the world? In her kid-focused TEDx talk, Michelle, head librarian at New Canaan (CT) High School shares the importance […]

Last week I was honored to address the incoming members of the Rutgers Chapter of the Beta Phi Mu (the International Library and Information Studies Honor Society). I decided to attack the theme of social capital. In preparing the talk, I did a little experiment. My audience was predominantly promising new practitioners. I wondered if […]

All this month, YALSA and ConnectedLearningTV has hosted a series of conversations around teens and the future of school & public libraries, part of the year-long National Forum on Libraries and Teens. The background: YALSA President H. Jack Martin and Crystle Martin, Postdoctoral Researcher for the Connected Learning Research Network, have been moderators the free virtual chats, which will look at the […]

At the Women’s National Book Association NYC chapter’s event, “The Making of a Young Adult Bestseller,” writers, editors, publishers, and agents came together to discuss the key components of a hit YA novel.

Where are libraries heading in the future? English teachers, librarians, and other educators voiced their opinions on issues ranging from technology to budget concerns in a Twitter chat hosted by Pam Moran and Ira Socol, “unkeynote” speakers at SLJ’s upcoming Leadership Summit.

Alyssa Sheinmel, Adele Griffin, and other young adult authors came together September 29 at the sixth annual KidLitCon in New York City to discuss social media, the obligations authors have to their fans, and the challenges of interacting with an audience.

Facebook, Twitter, and blogs have made authors and book reviewers more visible—but have they also suppressed genuine literary criticism? Several book bloggers gathered at the New York Public Library September 29 for a KidLitCon 2012 panel discussion entitled “How Nice is Too Nice?: Critical Book Reviewing in the Age of Twitter” to explore the impact of social media on the book industry.

Students from a nearby district were recently caught sexting: posting sexually explicit messages, photos or videos online. In this case, the boy who shot the video and the boy he forwarded it to are being charged with a felony, Juvenile Sexual Exploitation of a Child. While they will be tried as juveniles, there is still the possibility that both will have to register as a sex offenders if convicted. They will have to knock on the doors of their neighbors and explain their felony, tell their future bosses and colleges they are applying to about this crazy sex video they shot in high school.